A teacher made several graphic novels available to the students in class
 Illustration is a powerful aid, but one that is often phased out with age. Students move from picture to chapter books, animated cartoons to film. However, highly visual text—graphic novels and comics—have a place beyond early childhood. Show
Emily Oliver works with PositiveNegatives, a U.K.-based organization that creates comics to highlight untold stories, like those of migrants and refugees. She emphasized the influence that imagery can have on a reader’s perception of a story and the greater lessons within it. “Words come with a lot of baggage. As soon as we hear the words ‘refugee,’ ‘migrant,’ ‘asylum seeker,’ we will all have a load of other associations,” Oliver said. “They might be positive or negative, but when you start with visuals, and we begin to really see someone beyond those words, then sometimes that can really build empathy, compassion, perhaps even critical consciousness
and humanity.” Navigate through the sections below to learn more about how to introduce graphic novels to children and for book recommendations:
PROMOTE VOCABULARY AND LANGUAGE USE Graphic novels utilize more literary devices, such as fonts, onomatopoeia and panels, that communicate the author’s specific choices and prompt discussion. ARE MULTIMODAL Multiple literacies in one medium facilitate understanding of complicated ideas and reduce text load. ENGAGE RELUCTANT READERS Illustration and motion provide new access points to stories, plus new contextual cues. ARE ACCESSIBLE FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS (ELLS) A lighter text load and imagery can help students who are not fluent in English engage with the story. This accessibility also makes graphic novels a good entrance point for conversations about extremely difficult subjects, like trauma, loss and conflict. As a framing device, Oliver notes the two primary ways children see themselves in the story Ola by Asia Alfasi. Ola is a smart, popular girl navigating the difficulties of adolescence while also keeping a big secret: She is an undocumented immigrant. For some students, Ola’s story and her fears surrounding her citizenship status mimic their own. And they rarely see their experiences in the media or have the opportunity to talk about it. Responses to Ola are filled with students who say they see themselves in Ola and her story, Oliver said, and never thought they would. But Ola’s story is also the story of a young girl experiencing boy troubles and school stress. These universal themes tie other readers to Ola in a way they may have not expected. Dr. Benjamin Dix, author of Vanni: A Family’s Struggle Through the Sri Lankan Conflict, describes this concept when retelling his experiences and taking the stories of war to classrooms. “The kids really get it. They do a workshop with us, and then the next day they come back in and they have questions about Antoni, rather than about a statistic,” Dix said. “This is someone’s brother. They can empathise with that.” BACK TO TOP Character DesignPractice character development, archetypes, testing assumptions and emotive inference. How-to: Give students images of different heroes and villains from graphic novels. Ask students to identify expressions, clothing and colors used. Can students tell who is a hero and who is a villain solely from visual clues? This activity comes from Scholastic’s A Guide To Using Graphic Novels With Children and Teens (PDF, 6.3 MB). Additional Lesson Planning Resources:
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These books mimic children’s favorites—there are stories of superheroes, adventures and ghosts. But they also include themes such as displacement, addiction and loneliness. Browse the list below for graphic novel recommendations by age and discussion questions. Graphic Novels For Middle School Students:@geneluenyang Content themes: Race, Prejudice The stories of Jin Wang, the only Chinese-American student at his new school, the powerful Monkey King, the subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables, and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s life with his yearly visits. American Born Chinese description and image via Macmillan Publishers. Leila Abdelrazaq’s website Content themes: Refugeeism, Israeli–Palestinian conflict The story of a young boy named Ahmad struggling to find his place in the world. Raised in a refugee camp called Baddawi in northern Lebanon, Ahmad is just one of the many thousands of refugee children born to Palestinians who fled their homeland after the war in 1948 established the state of Israel. Cece Bell’s website Content themes: Hearing impairment, loneliness, fitting in Starting at a new school is scary, especially with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest. With the Phonic Ear, Cece can hear her teacher everywhere in the school; she has a superpower! Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most, a true friend? El Deafo description and image via Abrams Books. El Deafo discussion questions via Abrams Books:
@JerryCraft Content themes: Loneliness, prejudice, making friends, bullying Instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, seventh grader Jordan Banks’ parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself? New Kid description and image via Jerry Craft’s website. New Kid discussion questions via Jerry Craft’s website (PDF, 2.8 MB):
@JerryCraft Content themes: Loneliness, prejudice, making friends, bullying Instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, seventh grader Jordan Banks’ parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself? New Kid description and image via Jerry Craft’s website. New Kid discussion questions via Jerry Craft’s website (PDF, 2.8 MB):
@goraina Content themes: Friendship, bullying Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth, and what follows is a long and frustrating journey of dental drama—plus, a major earthquake, boy confusion and friends who turn out to be not so friendly. Smile description and image via Scholastic Kids. Smile discussion questions via Scholastic Kids (PDF, 579 KB):
Co-written by Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott Illustrated by Harmony Becker @GeorgeTakei Content themes: Japanese internment camps, immigration, racism Takei offers a firsthand account of years behind the barbed wire of Japanese internment camps, the terrors and small joys of childhood in the shadow of legalized racism, his mother’s hard choices, his father’s tested faith in democracy and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future. They Called Us Enemy description and image via Penguin Random House. They Called Us Enemy discussion questions via Common Sense Media:
BACK TO TOP Graphic Novels For High School Students:Content themes: The Holocaust, violence, persecution, religion Maus recounts the chilling experiences of the author’s father during the Holocaust, with Jews drawn as wide-eyed mice and Nazis as menacing cats. Maus description and image via Penguin Random House. Maus discussion questions via Colorado Virtual Library (PDF, 239 KB):
@StudioJJK Content themes: Addiction, incarceration, absentee parents Jarrett’s mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett’s life. His father is a mystery; Jarrett doesn’t know where to find him, or even what his name is. Only as a teenager can Jarrett begin to piece together the truth of his family, reckoning with his mother and tracking down his father. Hey, Kiddo description and image via Scholastic Kids. Hey, Kiddo discussion questions via Iowa Center for the Book:
Illustrated by Ellen T. Crenshaw @colleenaf Content themes: LGBTQ+, gender identity Mads is pretty happy with her life. She goofs off with her best friend Cat, and has thus far managed to avoid getting kissed by Adam, the boy next door. But Mads is starting to figure out that she doesn’t want to kiss Adam… because the only person she wants to kiss is Cat. Kiss Number 8 description and image via Macmillan Publishers. Kiss Number 8 discussion questions:
Illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff @JasonReynolds83 Content themes: Race, revenge, violence, guns After Will’s older brother, Shawn, is shot and killed, Will knows he has to follow the rules: Don’t cry, don’t snitch, get revenge. He gets Shawn’s gun and heads downstairs in the elevator to shoot Riggs, who he is convinced is responsible. As the elevator door opens on each floor, Will is confronted by people from his past who were also victims of gun violence. Long Way Down description and image via Kirkus. Content themes: Slavery, racism, violence Nat Turner details the life story of the famous insurrectionist who led an attack on white slave masters and their families on August 21, 1831, in Southampton County, Virginia. Nat Turner description and image via Abrams Books. Nat Turner discussion questions:
Persepolis discussion questions via Penguin Random House:
@dirtbagg and @marikotamaki Content themes: Sex, pregnancy, miscarriage, suicide, partying Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. Rosie’s friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. One of the local teens—just a couple of years older than Rose and Windy—is caught up in something bad… Something life threatening. This One Summer description and image via Macmillan Publishers. BACK TO TOP This article was published in January 2022. Which of the following teachers would be most likely to improve the language abilities of the children in his class?Which of the following teachers would be most likely to improve the language abilities of the children in her class? a teacher who used a range of sentence types, including complex ones, and also used more advanced vocabulary items.
Which of the following would need to take place to determine if goals were met?Which of the following would need to take place to determine if goals were met? Reevaluate the learning goals and delivery of lessons to determine if the students met the goals through the assessments.
Which of the following areas of Texas has an area known as the Pine Belt?The Pine Belt, called the “Piney Woods,” extends 75 to 125 miles into Texas from the east. From north to south, it extends from the Red River to within about 25 miles of the Gulf Coast.
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